The Games You Play
by Shelbecat
Summary: Seth will do just about anything to get Ryan to play with him.


**Pairing**: Ryan/Seth 

**The Games You Play**

Seth patted the papers spread out before him on the coffee table.  Yes, ready to play.  He rubbed his hands together and glanced up at Ryan sitting on the couch.

"Ready?"

Ryan nodded.

"Okay, so picture Wolverine."

"Got it."

"Not the Hugh Jackman with the bad-ass sideburns version, the real one."

"There's a real Wolverine?"

He sighed and shook his head.  Some days he wondered if teaching Ryan anything was a hopeless cause.

"Yes there's a real one, the comic book one."  He waved _Essential Wolverine Volume III_ above his head.  "This one, got it?"

The roll of Ryan's eyes as he nodded did not go unnoticed by Seth.

"This is actually key to the game you know, you wanna play or not?"

Ryan shook his head.  "I'm sitting here, aren't I?  Yeah, play."

"Okay, but pay attention.  So now, picture Batman."  He could see hesitation spring to Ryan's face.  "Which one you got?"

"Uh…Michael Keaton?"

Seth raised his hand to his chest and nodded slowly.  "Yes, there is hope for this one yet.  You didn't say George Clooney dude, that's all that matters here."

"Okay, so I got Wolverine…the _real_ one, and Michael Keaton."

Seth held up his hand to interrupt.

"Sorry," Ryan amended.  "Wolverine and Bruce Wayne."

"Ahh!"  Seth's eyes widened and he smiled broadly.  "You even got the name!  Dude!"  He held up his hand for a high-five which Ryan returned half-heartedly.  "This is progress, seriously."

"Seth…"

"Yes Ryan."  Seth shuffled his papers on the coffee table.

"The game…"  Ryan prodded.

"Oh, yes, right…the game.  Okay!  So you got Wolverine and Batman, right?  And you got your wrestling mat."

"There's a wrestling mat?"

"Ryan!  What did I tell you the name of this game was?"

"Uh…"

"Superhero Smackdown, that's correct Ryan.  Superhero _Smack_down.  What does Smackdown remind you of?"  Seth continued before Ryan could even open his mouth.  "It reminds you of wrestling, yes it does.  Now, got a wrestling mat?"

Ryan shook his head and leaned back into the cushions.  "Yeah, Wolverine, Batman, and a wrestling mat all set up.  Now what do…"

"Patience grasshopper.  Allow me to demonstrate."

Seth turned back to his papers and sketched out a rough square.  In it he drew two stick figures.  Turning back to Ryan, he pointed at the paper.  "Wolverine and Batman…who will dominate the square?"

"If you mean that rhombus you've got drawn there, I say Batman."

Seth looked back at his paper.  "It's not a rhombus, a trapezoid maybe, or a pentagon with one very short fifth side if you count that little place where my pen skipped."  He titled his head to one side and the sheet to the other.  "Maybe it could pass as a parallelogram.  Now that takes talent Ry.  Not everyone can draw a parallelogram on only half a cup of coffee."

"Fine, that's a fine looking square you've drawn there.  Batman still wins."

"Oh!  Ah!  Wrong!"  Seth squirmed on the floor as he turned and looked up at Ryan.  "How do you figure Batman would win?  Wolverine has like, claws dude, and super-duper healing abilities.  He could take Batman any day."

"Batman would still win."  Ryan crossed his arms on his chest and leaned further into the cushions.

Seth bounced on the floor as he flung his arms up onto Ryan's lap.  "How can you just say that?  You can't ignore the facts, that's cheating!"

"At Superhero Smackdown."

"Well…yes, yes it is.  The whole point is to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses and then determine who would emerge victorious."

"Oh, so the point isn't to spend time with me?"

Seth's ass hit the floor hard and his cheeks paled.  "W…what?"

Ryan smiled and leaned forward so that his elbows were an inch away from Seth's now still arms.  "If you wanted me to play with you, all you had to do was ask."

Seth couldn't move, only watched as Ryan leaned in until his mouth was only inches away.

"You want me to explain how Batman would win?"

Seth nodded, the only available option left in his frozen body.

"Batman's seen the streets, he's lived the hard life.  Batman has skills Wolverine never even dreamed existed.  He'd win.  Always."

He tracked Ryan with his eyes as he leaned back again.  He swallowed hard against the lump of desire caught in his throat.  It burned like he'd eaten too much wasabi on a California Roll.  He thought he might even shed a few tears. 

"You think…you think you could give…g-g-give me a demonstration?"

Ryan shrugged and leaned past Seth to pick up the paper.  "If I show you, do we ever have to play Superhero Smackdown again?"

"No, never," Seth vowed immediately.

"Right."  Ryan crumpled the paper in his hand and tossed it to the floor.  He wrapped his hand around Seth's neck and swallowed his mouth in a crushing kiss.  

Seth moaned, and panted, and licked his lips hungrily to soak up the last taste of Ryan as he pulled away.

"So this game was a bust?"

"Yeah."  Ryan kept his hand on Seth's neck, their foreheads pushed together.

"I'll make up a better one tomorrow.  Promise."

"When are you going to realize that you don't need to make up games?"

Seth smiled and kissed his boyfriend of six months again.  "When they stop getting me exactly what I want."

_Fin._


End file.
